Swordplay Masterclass

My experience changed the way I approach the art. Putting aside all of the physical and sword skills that I learned in this intensive, I feel that I learned how to learn, and I feel much more confident moving forward in my training now.

I would recommend this course to anyone with a real interest in sword play that is up for the challenge. It is definitely intense but highly worth it. I learned a lot about myself, how to care for myself and be both a good learner and partner. I met so many cool people and feel that there was genuine support despite the fact that I came in with zero experience. I fully intend to take the course again next year, and in truth I’m already hooked.

The Academie Duello Instructor Intensive is a fantastic and enriching experience for the body, the mind, and the heart. The environment is supportive in a way that makes it possible for the student to challenge themselves without fear, and the curriculum and teaching practices are some of the best I’ve encountered in any educational institution.

Devon Boorman has designed a fantastic curriculum that will satisfy the most curious and technical fencers. The course focuses on important mechanics in great detail and covers strategies in fighting. Perhaps the most important, you’ll be taught how to become a better learner and accelerate your own training and studies as well as your friends’ and students’ if you are or wish to become a teacher.

I signed up because I’m so novice in the art that I felt like I didn’t have the tools to train alone. Being a novice, it did seem intimidating to be joining a mastery-oriented community – but having completed the program, I can’t even imagine a past version of myself not taking that step into the unknown. I’m now immersed in swordplay, I have access to a community that I feel comfortable within, despite being an enormously reticent person, and I have a rich training plan that includes multiple options and directions – forms, partner work, historical source study, recapping the basics… I’ve acquired a solid grounding in the verbal, physical and mental vocabulary of swordplay, and I also know where to turn for continuing guidance.

The Swordplay Masterclass was one of the most inspiring and deep training opportunities I have experienced. Getting to study longsword with Devon, one of the world’s best longsword instructors and most insightful and inspiring coaches, was an absolute delight. Most impressive of all, the whole program was organized so I could do it from the comfort of my own home, and at the pace that suited my my day to day life. What a delight to finally take an online training that leverages all the potentials of the medium and really gives you the tools to create a sustainable long term sword training practice.